• Keilor, Taylors Lakes, Sydenham Star
• St Albans, Deer Park, Caroline Springs Star
• Sunshine, Ardeer, Albion Star

By Alesha Capone

9th March 2010 11:05:22 AM

 Purchase this photo from Star Photos

Road row ... Tom Buxton from the Sunshine Groupe has been trying to seal Bunting Rd in Brooklyn since last year.

---

BRUCE Light, from the Yarraville-based On The Nose community group, has been campaigning for years to get Bunting Rd in Brooklyn’s industrial estate sealed.

But a sudden decision by the Brimbank City Council which said the road was their responsibility, after years of saying the opposite, has caused attempts to seal the road to be postponed.

Mr Light said the amount of dust Bunting Rd, Jones Rd and Old Geelong Rd caused was “only minor” compared to how much some of the area’s industrial operators emitted, but sealing the roads would still help reduce the problem.

Mr Light raised the prospect of sealing Bunting Rd two years ago with Brookylyn industrial businessman, Tom Buxton from the Sunshine Groupe.

Mr Buxton committed to put a two-coat bitumen seal on the road at a cost of $50,000 and aimed to start the project during December last year.

However, the council derailed this plan by declaring Bunting Rd came under their jurisdiction and not the Sunshine Groupe’s.

“The group was informed by Brimbank City Council that while the company had understood it was a private road and their responsibility, council maintained that it was a ‘public highway and maintenance was a council responsibility’,” Mr Buxton said.

Mr Light labelled this a “backflip” and said the council had previously disavowed all responsibility for Bunting Rd at previous meetings of the Brooklyn Community Reference group.

Mr Buxton told Star this led to “a stalemate” developing between the council and his business, and plans to seal the road were put on hold.

He has since been meeting with Brimbank City Council officials to work out how to get the road sealed as quickly as possible.

Despite Mr Buxton’s commitment, the council passed a report last week which said they would ask the State Government for funding to seal Bunting and Jones roads within 12 months. The council has also given the Sunshine Groupe tentative permission to seal the road, but some legal factors still needed to be resolved before work could start.

---

Popular Stories